This invention relates to an elevated suspended transportation method and apparatus and devices therefor.
Particularly, this invention relates to a transportation system, and more particularly to a system of capable of providing high capacity suspended lateral transportation particularly, in downtown core areas.
Transportation is a critical element in the smooth and efficient operation of almost every aspect of today""s cities and urban areas. All over the world, the population is rising and the infrastructure development is not keeping pace. Roads are unable to handle the rising number of vehicles and metro rails face inadequacies in increasing the capacity, besides there is also the concomitant risk of vandalism and derailment. Expansions or new construction need land in urban areas, which is not possible; alternative underground railways are too expensive. As a result, many types of transportation systems have been developed to move people and cargo from one place to another more efficiently. The most prominent transportation systems are overland travel by cars and bogies, both operating on roads such as public highways. Public buses utilize the same highway network, as do, to some extent, cable cars and electric buses. Conventional high capacity urban transportation systems generally employ underground trains or streetcars moving along conventional rails. Such systems take up a considerable amount of space in the urban area and do not allow the individual cars to be separately directed. Subways, monorails, and trains, however, utilize a rail network that is typically less developed than the surrounding highway networks. Other forms of inter-city transportation include the bicycle, auto rickshaws, scooters and motor cycles, all of which use the same roads. Consequently the roads are unable to handle the rising number of vehicles.
Public buses also utilize the highway network, but are far less popular than cars. Buses are less favored than cars because a passenger often has to wait at a bus stop for a relatively long period of time and in potentially disagreeable weather. Further, buses are generally restricted to particular routes, and consequently a bus rider must walk, or acquire other transportation, to and from bus stops along various routes proximate to his origination and destination. Frequently, transfers must be made from one bus to another due to inadequate routes, and frequent interim stops must be made to load or unload other passengers. Still further, buses are subject to many of the same drawbacks as the car, such as traffic, stop lights, and traffic risk. As a result, buses are not as popular as the car even though, when properly utilized, buses are more efficient and less environmentally harmful than the cumulative effect of so many individual cars.
Rail-guided vehicles, such as trains, monorails, metro-rails and subways, are an alternative transportation system found in many cities and urban areas. When properly utilized, such systems are more energy efficient than cars and less environmentally damaging. However, many of the same drawbacks exist for rail guided vehicles as for buses. For example, rail guided vehicle users are dependent upon predetermined and often inadequate schedules, a limited number of fixed routes, and lost time due to stops at intermediate stations for other passengers. Even the relatively high speeds attained by rail-guided vehicles do not fully compensate for the time lost in other ways when using such transportation systems. Surface railway is impossible to lay in an existing city. But even to lay the same in a new development is subject to negative implications. The development remains divided by the corridor and it a permanent noise polluter. Disgorging of heavy loads of commuters at stations creates needless congestion on the roads reducing the quality of life. Several thousands of persons die annually because of trespassing or failing from trains. In addition derailments, collisions and capsizing cause serious damage to life, limb and property.
Underground railway is less invasive on the surface but still poses technical challenges including the management of fires and evacuation. If road vehicles are involved in inter-modal transfers, it becomes a weak link in the chain of transport between walking and the railway.
Elevated railway technically cannot reach congested central busy roads where mass transport is needed. It is too invasive and may require dislocation of some portions of the habitat as well as the system is very noisy.
Consequently, cities and urban areas have been plagued by the problems associated with having private cars as the primary mode of civilian transportation. A person will readily spend hours in heavy traffic either because there is no alternative, or because any available alternatives require more time and inconvenience. Moreover, the pollution created by millions of private cars is having a deleterious effect on the environment and quality of civilian life, not only in urban areas but in the surrounding rural areas as well. The cumulative energy wasted at traffic signals and in traffic is considerable, and causes a direct increase in fuel costs and other costs associated with vehicular transportation. The energy required to accelerate a car that weighs several thousand kilograms is frequently converted into little more than friction within the car""s braking system at the next traffic light. This is a considerable amount of wasted energy since the average human occupant in a typical car represents a mere 5% of the gross vehicle weight. Still further, dependence upon extremely large amounts of gasoline or diesel to power a large automotive transportation system makes such a society somewhat vulnerable to the whims of those who possess these reserves.
Clearly, then, there is a need for a civilian transportation system that is able to compete with the car in terms of convenience to the user, but does not require the tremendous energy consumption of an automotive transportation system. Further, such an improved transportation system should provide increased safety expectations, less overall cost to the user, and profitability to those manufacturing, owning, and operating such a system. All administrations are in search of an economical viable solution to the transportation problem, which is concomitantly environment-friendly.
The present invention relates to a public transportation system that fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages. An object of the present invention is to provide a more versatile urban transportation system that has hitherto been impossible using systems of the prior art.
The present invention relates to a novel suspended coach rail transportation system.
Specifically, the present invention relates to a means of improving the running and the safety levels of suspended coach rail transportation systems and more specifically, methods, means and devices preventing capsizing of the coach and derailment of the bogie by external forces acting upon the bogie and to provide improved tractive capability.
Single supporting rail suspended monorail systems have been built in the past. The potential of high-speed operation requires that the attitude of the cars is securely controlled and capsizing of the coaches and derailment of the bogies carrying the cars be prevented.
The principal objective of the present invention is to provide a suspended coach transportation system that includes a bogie, that can operate inside a continuous box type elevated closed horizontal beam having a slot in lower surface for the traverse of a suspended coach supported by suspenders extending from the beam, that will eliminate the possibility of derailment of the bogie due to forces acting upon the bogie. A very high speed, 100 KMPH to 200 KMPH, can be obtained.
According to the present invention there is provided a suspended transportation system comprising an extended continuous hollow box way having a slot throughout its operative under wall, said box way being elevated by columns from the ground level and generally following the lay of the ground; a pair of rails fixed on either side of the slot on the operative inner surface of the under wall within the extended box way and extending continuously throughout the box way; a plurality of bogie assemblies moving on the said rails within the box way secured to a floating beam located in the box way operative overhead of the bogie assemblies suspension means extending from the floating beams operatively downwards and through the slot in the box way; removably mounted coaches suspended from suspension means; and motor means to displace the bogie assemblies on the rails.
Typically, the coaches are suspended in the by coach suspension means in a manner that permits controlled longitudinal, swinging and angular displacement of the coaches and their suspension means.
Typically, the box way is a concrete box way and an array of central columns support two extending box ways on either side of the columns permitting traverse of suspended coaches along the box ways on either side and alongside of the columns, typically in opposite directions.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention the box way has a generally rectangular or square cross section defined by a pair of horizontal and a pair of vertical walls typically of concrete said walls enclosing a space; one of said horizontal walls, typically the under wall of the box way defining a continuous slot.
Typically, the extended box way is constructed by aligning and joining a plurality of pre fabricated box way segments secured to the columns.
Typically, the box ways on either side of the columns are integral with each other.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the columns are typically 1 m-diameter columns 8 m high spaced apart by a distance of advantageously 15 m with respect to each other and formed in the divider space between the carriage ways on a roadway.
Typically the coaches are suspended at a height of 2 m to 4 m above the road surface/ground level.
Typically, the rails are fitted in an elastic medium dampened by inertia of measured mass.
In accordance with a typical embodiment of the invention the conventional rails used for over ground railways are used as the guiding rails in the box ways.
According to yet another feature of the invention an electric current delivering rail is fitted on one of the walls of the box way and running through its length. Typically an insulated wheel or other device will run against this power supplying rail effectively collecting current to power motors, preferably linear induction motors cooperating with the bogie assemblies.
Typically, a fourth continuous rail mounted on the inner surface of one of the walls of the box way is provided to cooperate with the linear induction motors associated with the bogie assemblies.
Typically in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, the bogie is secured to a suspender beam via a connecting steel load transfer beam and spring loaded bolsters, to dampen the jerks and other movements from the rails to the bogie wheels. The bogies are also secured to the suspender beams via means of central pivots which permit controlled play and limited angular displacement of the bogie assembly on the suspender beam, if necessary.
The coaches are suspended from the suspender beam by a plurality of suspender shafts. The shafts, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, consist of a plurality of typically four, discreet wire ropes fitted between and spanning the suspender beam joint and the coach roof coupling.
The suspension shaft is secured to the suspension beam joint by means of cross pins which allow longitudinal motion of the shaft and the coaches suspended therefrom and at the same time the whole arrangement permits the coaches to swing in a controlled manner in an axis parallel to the direction of travel of the coaches.
The coaches are removably connected the suspension shafts, which permits fast and efficient removal and replacement of the coaches with other coaches or with load carrying. Cargo carrying means, if desired.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided swing control means fitted to the novel suspended coach rail transportation system of this invention.
Specifically, the object of this aspect of the invention is to provide a means of improving the safety levels of suspended coach rail transportation systems and more specifically, methods, means and devices controlling the longitudinal swing of the coach and derailment of the bogie by external forces acting upon the bogie and to provide improved tractive capability.
According to this aspect of the present invention there is provided swing control means in suspension means for coaches in a transportation system consisting of an extended continuous hollow box way having a slot throughout its operative under wall, said box way being elevated by columns from the ground level and generally following the lay of the ground; a pair of rails fixed on either side of the slot on the operative inner surface of the under wall within the extended box way and extending continuously throughout the box way; a plurality of bogie assemblies moving on the said rails within the box way; said coaches being suspended from suspension means extending through the slot in the box way the bogie assemblies being generally connected to the coach suspension means in a manner that permits controlled longitudinal, swinging and angular displacement of the coaches and their suspension means, said swing control means which control the swinging of the coaches beyond a preset limit comprising a plurality of wheels mounted on a space frame swingably secured to the operative roof of the coaches and in the gap between the said roof and the under surface of the said box way, the wheel and frame assembly adapted to swing from a normally inoperative configuration in which the wheels are spaced apart from the under surface of the box way to an operative configuration in which the wheels abut and bear on the under surface of the box way to limit the swing of the coach.
The controlled swing means in accordance with this invention consist of a set of tyre wheels, typically spring loaded solid rubber tyre wheels fitted on a space frame mounted and spanning between adjacent suspension shafts such that the tyre wheels do not, in its normal operative configuration, touch the box way but in an abnormal operative configuration, if the swing of the coaches goes beyond a preset limit, the wheels will touch and abut the under wall of the box way take the reaction against the under wall of the box way, thereby preventing abnormal swinging.
According to another aspect of the invention, the invention relates to a derailment control safety device to be installed on the system in accordance with this invention.
Therefore another objective of the present invention is to provide in a suspended coach transportation system that includes a bogie, that can operate inside a continuous box type closed horizontal beam having a slot in lower surface for the traverse of the coach body support, that will eliminate the possibility of derailment of the bogie due to forces acting upon the bogie, with or without including devices for controlling excessive swing of the coaches in the stationary state or during motion at high, an improvement in that novel derailment arrester means is provided on the bogie assembly/coach suspension.
According to this aspect of the present invention there is provided a derailment arrester in a transportation system comprising an extended continuous hollow box way having a slot throughout its operative under wall, said box way being elevated by columns from the ground level and generally following the lay of the ground; a pair of rails fixed on either side of the slot on the operative inner surface of the under wall within the extended box way and extending continuously throughout the box way; a plurality of bogie assemblies moving on the said rails within the box way; removably mounted coaches suspended from suspension means extending through the slot in the box way the bogie assemblies being generally connected to the coach suspension means in a manner that permits controlled longitudinal, swinging and angular displacement of the coaches and their suspension means, said derailment arrester adapted to prevent the displacement of the bogie wheels from the guiding rails consisting of in combination flanges from the running surface of the bogie wheels extending below the outer surface of the rails and a plurality of additional wheels mounted in housings on the suspender beam causing the suspender beam and bogie assembly to bear on the rails to prevent derailment.
It is envisaged that the operation will be affected by air currents caused by movement of the coaches and surface winds. The forces from these air currents cannot be permitted to raise the light weight suspended coaches to the extent that the flanged bogie wheels can climb over the rails in the lateral direction.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a bogie that can exert a greater normal force on the running rails to increase the traction available to ascend or descend steeper gradients than can be safely ascended or descended relying on the force provided by the weight of the car and bogie assembly alone. This added tractive capability will permit steel wheel cars on steel rails to safely negotiate the gradients commonly encountered in major thoroughfares built for automobiles.
The second objective of increasing the gradability of the bogie is accomplished by using at least one auxiliary vertical wheel and actuator assembly against the under surface of the roof wall of the box way to create a downward force on the bogie and running wheels providing for additional traction between a smooth steel wheel on a smooth steel rail.
Typically two such wheels are used which are isolated by the rest of the suspension mechanism by means of spring loaded/hydraulic and or pneumatic linkages which typically act as shock absorbers in addition to providing the basic function of derailment arresters.
Thus an objective of the invention is to provide a transit system high slow speed automated people mover suspended coaches which uses at least one anti-derailment wheel as a vertically movable wheel to exert additional vertical reactive force on the two running rails.
Yet another objective of the invention is that the anti-derailment device used in accordance with this invention is also functional in the inhibiting of vibration caused by the natural frequency of the bogies and the rails being excited by wheel movement by dampening the vibration. Unattenuated vibration creates noise and causes metal fatigue in structures.